In sports, perhaps nothing is more entertaining than marquee showdowns between the immovable object and the unstoppable force.
Clich’eacute; aside, when one of America East’s most dangerous offensive forwards battles in the paint against arguably the conference’s best interior defender, a crucial conference win is likely to hang in the balance.
Last night, in an 81-63 victory over Binghamton University, the Boston University women’s basketball team benefited from a win in such a matchup, as BU senior Jesyka Burks-Wiley got the best of the sturdy defense of Binghamton’s Laura Franceski.
Burks-Wiley has averaged 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season, good for second and fifth in the conference, respectively. The 6-foot-1 forward is athletic, smart and versatile, and those traits have made her one of the conference’s most dangerous frontcourt threats over the past two seasons.
However, last night presented Burks-Wiley her biggest challenge of the conference season, as Franceski, a senior, awaited the BU forward in the paint every time she moved into the low post.
Franceski, a native of Moscow, Pa., is listed at 6-foot-2, but, as Burks-Wiley was quick to point out in a postgame interview with the Daily Free Press, her lanky frame allows her to play much taller on the defensive end. The extra length has led to a conference best 2.7 blocks per game.
The battle took center stage in the game’s early going. Franceski kicked off her first half power trip at 18:05, when she swatted away a 3-point shot from BU junior Aly Hinton, resulting in an easy layup for her teammate, junior Erica Carter.
Burks-Wiley responded on BU’s next possession, taking the ball with her back to the bucket and knocking down a jumper in the paint over the outstretched arms of Franceski.
After a Binghamton turnover 17 seconds later, Burks-Wiley tried again to post up Franceski for two points, but Franceski’s long arms stayed perfectly between Burks-Wiley and the hoop. Burks-Wiley attempted a spin move toward the right side of the hoop, but the shot hardly got out of her hands before Franceski swatted it away.
‘[Franceski’s] a very good player and a very long player,’ Burks-Wiley said. ‘A lot of my shots she was blocking or at least getting a piece of it, so I had to change my shot a lot.
‘Against shorter defenders, I can either just shoot up or go over them, but with her being significantly taller than me and having a very long wingspan, it was hard to just go against her. I had to change my shot so I wasn’t just shooting into her hand.’
At 16:09 of the first, Burks-Wiley again got the better of Franceski, driving to the net from the left wing before crossing over in front of Franceski. Burks-Wiley went up for a layup and made a bucket while drawing another foul from Franceski for an old-school 3-point play.
Franceski wouldn’t have to wait long to get her revenge. Twenty-two seconds after Burks-Wiley sank the and-1, the BU forward again took possession of the ball in the paint. Just as before, Burks-Wiley went to her low-post spin-and-shoot move, and once again, Franceski was in perfect position to swat the shot away.
The battle continued for much of the first half. Franceski continued her defensive dominance, blocking four shots while pulling down four first-half rebounds.
Burks-Wiley finished the frame with 12 points and five rebounds, but her biggest contribution can actually be found in Franceski’s stat line. Thanks to Burks-Wiley’s aggressive play, Franceski found herself in foul trouble early, and sat out the half’s final 4:57 after committing her third personal foul.
With Franceski out of the game, the floodgates to the paint seemed to open, as the Terriers, who had already experienced more than moderate success driving to the basket, charged the paint seemingly at will.
‘[Senior Christine Kinneary] kept talking to me the whole game,’ Burks-Wiley said. ”Don’t get frustrated, don’t get frustrated.’ So I had to get my head right and I just kept plugging away at her, and eventually I got her in foul trouble.’
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